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It will not be to long before I try to start her up. It has been years since it last ran. I am not sure what fuel I should be using? Is there some sort of an octane booster I need to mix with the fuel? I have purchased a fuel filter and will install it first. Suggestions about the correct engine oil (or anything else to keep me out of trouble) to use here in NC would also be appreciated. Thanks in advance I fell like I have a very smart big brother that I can get answers to my questions.

Hi Ralwes, there are a few things you need to know when reviving an old engine that has been out of commission for years. I have done this many times and 9 times out of 10, can get an old engine running in a few hours.

Do not trust old gas, it can gum up your engine and ruin it. If the gas is stinky and smells like varnish, it is no good. Even if the gas is a little bit old, like a few months, it is best to get fresh gas.

If there is any doubt about the gas tank being clean and the gas fresh, disconnect the fuel line at the fuel pump and use a motorboat gas tank. If the fuel pump is iffy you can connect the gas tank right to the carb.

Take out the spark plugs and squirt some oil down the plug holes. Ordinary motor oil is fine. Use an oil can or put 2 or 3 tablespoons of oil down each cylinder.

Check the plugs, clean and gap them if possible. Do not use a power wire brush, sandblast if possible otherwise just clean the gaps with sandpaper and regap.

Check the points and clean off the white fur with 600 wet or dry sandpaper. Do not disturb the gap or timing. Clean the inside of the cap.

Check the oil.If it is up at least to the add mark it will be OK for now. You can change the oil after you get it running.

Check the rad and fill with water. It is possible to get an engine running with no water but do not run it for more than a minute or 2.

Turn the engine over by hand, if it turns OK put a battery in and spin the engine over. While doing this you can connect the plugs to the plug wires and see if they are firing.

If all plugs are firing, put them back in. Spin the engine again, do you have compression? Great.

Is gas getting to the carb? Your motorboat gas tank should have a pump to pump up the fuel.

For test purposes you can pour a little fuel down the carb. The engine should fire, but be careful you can get a back fire thru the carb.

If the engine fires you know it will run but needs gas. If it won't fire it is probably the plugs or ignition. Backfiring out the carb indicates possible stuck or worn intake valves.

If the engine starts run it at a fast idle for 5 or 10 minutes and it should smooth out.

Of course there is a lot more to it. I assume you are savvy enough to check for loose wires, broken or missing parts etc. and to stop the engine if there are any dangerous raps, bangs and signs of distress.

One thing that is common on old motors especially Packards, is the valves stick if they are left idle for years. It is usually possible to free them off by taking off the valve cover, spraying on penetrating oil both at the bottom and at the top, thru the plug hole. Then gently prying down on the valve spring. If this does not work you will have to take the head off.

The sign that this is necessary is that one or more cylinders has no compression at all. You can hear the engine "skip" as it turns over.

Fortunately on a Packard and other flatheads, a sticky valve does not cause any other damage.

This is the basic procedure. I prefer to assume the engine was running when put away unless I know different. Then I don't mess with things unless I have to. If you go messing around pretty soon you don't know why it won't start. Then you have to go right back to basics and check every detail. If you don't mess around, then it will be fairly obvious what you need to do as problems present themselves.

So have a go. Let us know how you make out and if you have any problems ask.

By the way no octane boost is necessary, just the opposite. Your engine will run fine on gas of way lower octane than the stuff they sell today.

Thanks for the great info. When I received the car the head was off the #8 piston had the top blown off and the #8 intake and exhaust valves were bent. These items were replaced, the head had to be resurfaced and it is now reinstalled. Have to install the manifold and connect everything up. You right I haven't got to the tank yet but I will check it out. I will keep you posted on my progress.

O

You didn't tell me you did all that work already. I thought you were starting an unknown motor in order to evaluate its condition.

It seems you are starting a freshly rebuilt engine.

In that case you should take the distributor off clean it and inspect for wear. Make sure the vacuum advance and centrifugal advance are working normally. Replace the points and adjust the gap. Clean the protective oil off the points and lube the cam.

Make sure the timing marks are correct while you have the head off. Install the distributor and set the initial timing.

Get a kit for the carburetor, clean it and set everything according to the factory book. The instructions you get with the kits are incomplete and filled with errors.

Put a kit in the fuel pump. Unless the fuel pump and carb have been rebuilt since the 70s they will soon fail. The new gas contains alcohol and chemicals that will soon destroy the original rubber parts.

Spin the engine over with the plugs out until you have oil pressure. This will prelube the engine and hopefully the fill the carb with gas.


If you did everything right it should be possible to hop in and start the engine like any other car. You may have to prime the carb.

It pays to go to the extra trouble of setting everything up right. I have seen guys fooling around with the distributor and carb for hours trying to get an engine to start when all they needed to do was set them to factory specs in the first place.

On the question of zinc and phosphorus. When your flathead engine was built oils did not have all the additives. The problem of valve train wear only became acute when the new OHV V8s came in.

Now there are no engines on the market with flat tappets and overhead valves. They are all overhead cams or roller lifters. These engines don't need the anti wear additives any more than a flathead does.

So, for a stock flathead engine the new oil would probably be OK. But the additives can't do any harm.

You should probably break in your engine on any good name brand of oil. Put in the anti wear additive if you like but you shouldn't need it. Do not use synthetic oil until the engine has done about 5000 miles. After that you can use synthetic if you like.

I haven't tried it yet but I believe synthetic oil will prolong the life of your engine. I would only use it if the engine was newly rebuilt and internally clean of old sludge and oil.

By the way your big brother is a little ticked off at all the time he wasted answering your questions. In future please be more specific about what you want to know. Include all relevant details.

There are already a few very smart guys who stopped answering questions because of things like this.

Rusty O\'Toole
Please don't be to ticked I found you answer very informative an have printed it for future reference. I try to do better in the future. Okay

Rusty, Your posting about starting a long stored engine was appreciated. Thanks for taking the time. My one added recommendation is that the oil pan should be removed and the sludge removed from the pan and pickup screen before any attempts being made to start the engine unless as in this this case this was likely done when the piston was replaced. The thread should be titled as an FAQ posting as well for future reference. Thanks.

BigKev,

Rusty's list of to-dos would make for a good FAQ post. What do you think?

Thanks Rusty! I also printed this list for future reference. Your time was NOT wasted.

-Carl